Ramallah, June 22, 2024: The Head of the CWRC, the Colonization & Wall Resistance Commission, Minister Mu’ayyad Shaa’ban, stated that the occupying state has begun, since the formation of the last government, to make radical changes in the way it deals with the lands in the West Bank and Jerusalem, by imposing a series of measures on the reality of the Palestinian lands.
Mr. Shaa’ban pointed out that the series of measures and steps imposed by the occupying state including reducing the steps needed for approving the colonial master from four steps to two steps, allowing the return of settlement to the northern West Bank and facilitating the procedures of legalizing the colonial outposts, as well as the forced displacement of the Palestinian communities in favour of expanding the colonial project , and the accelerated operation of land confiscation, all of which were aimed at eliminating the Palestinian presence and weakening its capabilities.
Mr. Shaa’ban added that the occupying state has stated a list of more than 70 colonial outposts to provide them with basic and security services, in preparation for legalizing those outposts, the thing which means imposing a system of ghettos and cantons aimed at deforming the Palestinian geography, which necessarily eliminates the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state.
Mr. Shaa’ban stated that the occupying state, since the beginning of 2023 and with the formation of the far-right government, whose most important goal was the issue of colonial expansion, has confiscated more than 75 thousand dunums of Palestinian land under various claims, including declarations of state lands, natural reserves, and military orders.
Mr. Shaa’ban also revealed that the most dangerous thing the occupying state has done in the past few years, is to give an administrative character to its colonial procedures by removing the security and military dimensions from the operations of land control and colonial expansion. This type of administrative annexation of lands was represented by integrating the processes of publishing plans according to the occupation ministries and not according to the sites of the settlement institutions. In addition, there are discussions taking place in the corridors of the Knesset regarding annexing the colonies of the southern West Bank to the Negev Development Authority. A similar discussion is also being discussed aiming to impose Israeli control over the entire Jordan Valley region. Furthermore, it has also announced in the past few days the creation of a new position called “Deputy Head of the Civil Administration”, granting the position superior powers regarding lands, buildings, water, reserves, antiquities, and others.
Mr. Shaa’ban affirmed that what the occupying state is doing and what it aims to implement, in addition to being considered a kind of revenge against the will of the countries that began to recognize the Palestinian state on the June 6 borders, it violates the will and international legitimacy that criminalized colonization and the behavior of the occupying state represented in controlling Palestinian land. He added that the weakness of this international will to protect its decisions and positions as well as dealing with double standards, make the occupying state dare to proceed with attacking the capabilities of our Palestinian people.